SAMADHI

After the split of Raccomandata Con Ricevuta Di Ritorno, let's call them RRR (as they are often referred too), vocalist Luciano Regoli and guitarist Nanni Civtenga formed the short lived Samhadhi, another Italian prog band that only released one album. The band also included former L'Uovo Di Colombo drummer Ruggero Stefani.

Perhaps in response to the lack of success received by RRR, Samhadhi went in a more mainstream direction showing far less of the diverse eclectic nature of their former band and it has to be said as a result it's a less interesting album. Nevertheless it's still respectable enough, though not a classic of the RPI genre by any means. Sometimes the music even drifts into pop but fortunately there's enough going on to keep the listeners interest to more than a passing glance. Along with the pop influences, there's the occasional jazz touch like on Passaggio Di Via Arpino which makes considerable use of brass. Symphonic and acoustic elements also feature along with some orchestration. They save the best and longest until last. Some very good Piano dominates the sound of L'ultima Spiaggia, a song of greater diversity than most of the songs here. A lovely fluid bass shines through and it closes with a long repetitive choral section.

While the sophisticated pop vibe of some of the material doesn't over-excite me Samhadhi produced a good album, nothing less, nothing more. Worth your investigation then, after you've finished with the more essential RPI titles.